James Perry's 'amazing journey' ends with request for donation

Despite his loss to former TV news anchor Helena Moreno in last Saturday's election for the 93th state House District seat, James Perry assured
supporters in an e-mail message this week that he remains "inspired"
after a campaign that he described as "an amazing journey."

The lengthy message then launched into a sobering tale about how the
candidate and a young campaign volunteer have shared the experience of
watching friends victimized by murder, drugs and AIDS on the streets of
New Orleans.

The note then took an abrupt turn back into political territory.

G. Andrew Boyd / The Times-PicayuneJames PerryDuring the campaign, Perry had to apologize for his poor judgment after Moreno exposed his more than 100 traffic tickets
and parking violations, including at least four arrests. But in a move
seen by many as below the belt, he then tried to strike back by raising
questions about a 2002 traffic accident in which Moreno's SUV was hit by another vehicle that ran a red light.

Strangely, Perry waited until his post-mortem e-mail message to recount
a tale that might have earned him sympathy from some voters.

"All through my 20s, there were two police officers who would harass me
every time that they saw me, even arresting me on occasion: once for
having tinted windows (when in fact my windows weren't tinted), and
another time for illegal lane usage," he wrote.

"However, my opponent made the arrests and tickets a campaign issue
that caused my support in conservative circles to wane. Further,
progressive and social justice-minded white and African-American voters
didn't turn out in sufficient numbers," Perry wrote, noting the
runoff's 9 percent turnout.

Promising to continue his fight for a better New Orleans, Perry then
finally got to the meat of his message: "I will be hard at work this
week to raise the final dollars needed to pay end-of-campaign expenses.
If you should wish to donate online to this effort you can contribute
$25, $50 or $100 toward that effort right now."